Of Fashion And Death
by JustAnotherGuy04
Summary: When Ruby is delivering a pizza to a strange place, she meets the famous fashion designer, Coco Adel. While thinking it's a great moment, the redhead soon finds out that the designer takes her passion for fashion more seriously than anybody else. Now Ruby has caught the eyes of a dangerous lunatic, who won't stop until she has the girl. (Real world AU)
1. A Passionate Designer

**Of Fashion And Death**

 **Chapter 1: A Passionate Designer**

Ruby Rose was driving her car down a dirt road with forest all around her. She was delivering a pizza as her job and this was going to be her last delivery of the day. Unfortunately, it was also the longest, as the customer seemed to be living in the middle of nowhere. The redhead hated these deliveries, as she would have to struggle to get the pizza delivered on time. There was also the chance that it was a prank, which would lead her to returning the pizza and getting yelled at by the manager. She hoped that she could at least get a decent tip for the troubles she had to go through.

Once she finally arrived at the location, Ruby had to check the address she had been given. Seeing that it matched brought worry to her heart. The house she had arrived at was big and in pretty bad shape, which made it look like it was abandoned. However, the part that really made the young girl worried was that all over the yard were mannequins standing around and they each had different pieces of clothing covering them. While that was already weird, the part that Ruby found scary was that some of their clothes had been torn by somebody. There were even some that had marks of stabbing or getting hit with blunt weapons on them. It looked like some insane murderer had set up a training field and had been practicing their skills.

At this point, Ruby didn't care if this was all a prank or something. She just wanted to get in her car and drive away. Nevertheless, the redhead knew that she had a job to do, so she walked through the yard and to the front door of the house. Right now, she didn't care about getting a tip. She just hoped that she would get home alive.

Ruby rang the doorbell and soon heard footsteps coming closer to the door. Her imagination was bringing up all sorts of images of the person who lived there, but none of them were exactly comforting.

 _'Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer! Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer! Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer!'_ the redhead screamed inside her head as the footsteps stopped at the door and she could hear someone unlocking it from the other side.

Once the door opened, Ruby was surprised to see that the person was nothing like she had imagined. The person who opened the door was a tall young woman with dark brown hair that reached her chin. She was wearing a black beret on her head, a loose white t-shirt and loose black pants. She also had sunglasses over her eyes.

The woman stood at the door, simply staring at the redheaded pizza delivery girl in front of her. While Ruby was relieved to see that the person that lived in the house was not some horrible murderer she had imagined, the silent staring she was receiving was making her feel uncomfortable.

''Ummmm... Pizza delivery?'' Ruby aid awkwardly, bringing the box in her hands a bit higher to emphasize her reason for being there.

The woman still stood silent for a couple of seconds, almost like she was pondering what she had just heard. She eventually seemed to snap out of the daze she seemed to be in.

''Oh, right! Sorry about that!'' the woman apologized with a smile on her face. ''I just have a lot of going on in my head right now. I actually forgot that I ordered a pizza.''

''It's okay,'' the redhead said, relieved that the woman finally started talking. ''That will be 12 dollars.''

''I don't have my wallet on me right now. Could you bring that here, while I go look for it?'' the woman asked as she started to walk back into the house. ''Go sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable, while you wait.''

''Ummm... I'm not sure if I should...''

''Well, that's strange. This is the first time someone has refused a request from me,'' the woman said with a smirk. She then suddenly posed with her right hand on her hip and her left hand on her sunglasses. She tilted the sunglasses down enough so that she could look over them. ''Or don't you recognize me?''

Ruby was confused by the question at first, but she then noticed the pose. It was somehow familiar to her, like she had seen it on a magazine or something. After a couple of seconds, the redhead realized who this person was.

''Oh! You're Coco Adel! The famous fashion designer!'' Ruby said in a shocked voice as she recognized the woman in front of her.

''Yes! That is correct!'' Coco said with a wide grin, happy that she had been recognized. ''I guess you're into fashion, huh?''

''Not really... It's just that your face is pretty much everywhere, since you're such a big deal. Last time I saw you was on the news, when you suddenly went missing with that partner of yours,'' the redhead answered, referring to a news article that said that the designer had disappeared with a model that she often worked with, Velvet Scarlatina.

''It's not that I'm in trouble or anything. It's just that people like me sometimes need peace and quiet to do our work. I needed to get away from all the noise and other distractions in order to focus on my work,'' Coco explained.

''Is that partner of yours here as well?''

''Velvet? Oh, she's here, but she needs to be alone right now. She needs to work on something a bit and can't join us.''

''Where should I put your pizza?'' Ruby asked after stepping inside the house. While she knew that she shouldn't go inside a stranger's house like that, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Most people never got to meet celebrities like this, so she decided to do as Coco requested.

''Just leave it on the living room table. Come on. I'll show you where it is,'' the designer said and beckoned the girl to follow her into a nearby room.

Once the redhead had walked into the living room, she saw just how messy the place was. The house might have actually looked better on the outside, because it looked like no one had cleaned in there for weeks. Dust and trash was covering the whole place. Ruby also noticed that among the trash were pieces of paper that had drawings on them. These were most likely failed designs for clothes.

''Sorry about the mess. You can put the pizza on the table over here,'' Coco said and pointed at said piece of furniture that was in the middle of the room. Once the pizza delivery girl had put the box on the table, the fashion designer continued speaking. ''To be honest, I actually have a reason for inviting you in my house. You see, I noticed something about you that captured my attention and I wanted to speak about it here.''

''And what might that be?'' Ruby asked, curious about what a celebrity like Coco would want with her.

''I'm going to get straight to the point. Would you be my model?''

''W-WHAT!?'' the redhead asked with a blush, shocked that something like that was just asked of her.

''You heard me. I want you to be my model. You see, I have been struggling to get a perfect model to work on, to inspire me. At first I thought that Velvet would be all I would need, but I haven't been able to make any progress with her. However, once I saw you, I knew immediately that you were the answer to my problem,'' Coco answered.

''B-But why me? I never thought that I could be a model.''

''It's because you can make anything look good. I mean, just look at you,'' the fashion designer explained. She looked over Ruby in her uniform, which consisted of a red shirt with the pizzeria's logo on the back, a red baseball cap and black pants. ''You have that awful outfit on you, yet you look great in it. You also have this pure and innocent aura around you that I have been looking for. While Velvet has a somewhat similar feel around her, it's not as pure as yours. Besides her, I've only been able to work by using my imagination and mannequins, but it has been hopeless.''

''Is that why you have those creepy dolls around the yard?'' Ruby asked, remembering the scene before her when she arrived at the place.

''Yes. Fashion is my passion and I take my passion very seriously. You are right now the answer to my dilemma, so I beg you to join me in creating that which I seek to create. To join me in the world of fashion!'' Coco said and offered her hand to the pizza delivery girl.

This was all so sudden that it took Ruby a moment to get her head straight. Once she did, she started to slowly bring her hand up to Coco's. After all, this was an opportunity that no one would pass.

''Well... if you say that you need me... I think I could-''

''HELP!''

The sudden scream came from upstairs and caused Ruby to freeze up. She felt how terror started to take over her heart as she realized the situation she was in. Something was very wrong now and she needed to escape.

''Shit! I thought I silenced her properly!'' Coco cursed under her breath as she glanced at the direction of the scream.

Ruby tried to run away, but the fashion designer was soon in front of her, blocking the way out of the living room. She glared down at the pizza delivery girl, all of her previous friendly nature completely gone from her.

''You're not going anywhere. Like I said, I take my passion very seriously and I will have you model for me,'' Coco said in a cold voice.

What the woman had not expected was that Ruby was able to defend herself a bit. Having a tough older sister who practiced boxing had led to her getting a few lessons in defending herself. While not a real fighter in any way, the redhead was still able to throw a decent punch, which hit Coco in the gut and forced the air out of her lungs. While the crazed fashion designer was on her knees, recovering from the blow, Ruby ran past her and towards the front door. Coco still tried to grab her with her hand and almost got her, but the girl was able to make her way to the door and out of the house.

While Ruby was not strong, she was still a fast runner. She quickly made her way through the yard and to her car, where she got in the vehicle, started the engine and drove away. Once she was driving away to safety, she started to look for her phone to call the police. The redhead hoped that if she was fast enough, the police might make it there soon enough to save Coco's captive. However, she was horrified to notice that her phone was missing.

 _'I must have lost it when she tried to grab me! Instead of me, she took my phone!'_ Ruby thought to herself as she realized what had happened. She kept driving away as fast as she could, hoping that she would be able to get in contact with the authorities fast enough that Coco would get arrested and her captive rescued.

Meanwhile, Coco herself stared out of the window as Ruby's car drove away. She looked down at the phone in her hands, glad that she had been able to take it. This gave her extra time before the police arrived. Dropping the phone on the floor, the crazed designer started to make her way upstairs to where the scream came from. She was angry that her perfect little model had been scared away and she was going to punish the one responsible for it.

Coco eventually made her way into a room where a tied up young woman was laying on a couch. The woman was wearing an outfit that the designer had made her wear and it consisted of a white dress, black gloves that reached her shoulders, a red scarf around her neck, black shorts and black high-heeled boots. The woman had long brown hair and a pair of rabbit ears on her head, indicating that she was a faunus.

This was Velvet Scarlatina. A model that often partnered up with Coco to make new outfits.

When Coco had decided to disappear from the public eye, she had kidnapped the rabbit faunus in order to make the newest outfit that would ''shock the world,'' like the designer liked to say. Coco was surprisingly strong and was able to force Velvet into cooperation with strength and threats of violence. Whenever she wasn't modeling for her captor, Velvet spent her time tied up and locked in the room with no means of escaping.

However, this day had brought her a chance for freedom, as Coco had decided to order a pizza, meaning that someone else would finally come to the house. While the two women were professionals when it came to fashion, neither of them knew how to cook at all. This led to the crazed designer getting sick of eating the bland instant foods she got from the supermarket, which then made her order something. Coco did know that the person delivering the pizza could possibly find out about her captive and call the police, but she had been certain that this wouldn't be a threat once she covered Velvet's mouth with a rag. She had apparently thought wrong, as the faunus had been able to get the rag off her mouth and it was now hanging from her neck.

Unfortunately for her, while someone now knew of her peril, it would be a long time until help arrived. And during that time Coco was going to punish her for what she did.

''Velvie, Velvie, Velvie. Why did you have to do that?'' Coco asked in a voice similar to a mother scolding her child. She then started to walk towards her captive. ''I just had the perfect model there that would have helped me in my work. Thanks to your little stunt, she's gone now. You know that you haven't been able to help me in my work, so why did you have to drive her away?''

''What? Was she supposed to replace me? Would you have let me go, if you had gotten her to work for you? I doubt that,'' Velvet said in a bitter and hateful tone.

''Velvie, you know that I couldn't do that,'' the designer said as she sat one the couch and gathered the rabbit faunus in her arms to hug against her body. ''You would have talked and told someone about what we did here. They do not understand the work we do here. The dedication we put into this. They would have tried to stop it. We can't have that, can we?''

''I just... I just want to be free. I just want to see my family,'' Velvet said as tears started falling from her eyes. ''I don't want to do this anymore.''

''Well... I can help you with that,'' Coco said before suddenly taking hold of the rabbit faunus' head and snapping her neck, killing her instantly. She then pushed the dead body off her lap and to the floor like it was garbage. ''Now that I'm done with you, I guess I need to start packing my stuff. Don't want to be here when the cops come.''

As the crazed designer went around the house and gathered her belongings, she couldn't help but think about the pizza delivery girl she had met. The girl just radiated innocence and purity, which made her perfect for Coco's work. She was certain of it.

''Too bad she got away. Would have saved me a lot of trouble,'' Coco said to herself as an insane grin spread over her face. ''But I will find her. I know I will. And once I do, I'll have her help me shock the world.''

* * *

 **Author's notes: Hey, guys! Hope you liked the first chapter to my new story. This is something that I have been wanting to write for some time now. Since I've been doing lighthearted comedy for quite some time, I wanted to do something darker for a change. This is also my first actual attempt at a horror story, so it's an interesting experiment for me. This will also be a very short one, four chapters at best.**

 **Also, for those who want to see more War for Ruby, I ask you to wait a bit longer. I will get back to it eventually, I just want to do something different first. I will get to it in due time. I'm not like a certain president, who makes false promises and is on the news constantly for controversial statements.**

 **Anyways, please tell me if you like the story. If you do, I'll continue. If you don't, I'll delete it and we can hopefully forget that it ever existed. It's your opinion that decides it's fate.**

 **Until next time.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.**


	2. A Perfect Deal

**Of Fashion And Death**

 **Chapter 2: A Perfect Deal**

 _''The police are still looking for the famous fashion designer, Coco Adel, for the suspected kidnap and murder of Velvet Scarlatina. Both women went missing about two months ago, until a young pizza delivery girl encountered Adel during a delivery. The fashion designer apparently tried to recruit the girl as her new model, but failed when Scarlatina managed to scream for help, warning the girl of the the almost victim managed to escape and alert the authorities, they were too late to arrest Adel or save Scarlatina. The fashion designer has been missing for two weeks now and the police believe that she is highly dangerous. If anyone is to see her, they are to contact-''_

The news reporter was cut off by the TV being suddenly shut down. Ruby looked to her left to see her older sister, Yang Xiao Long, staring at her with a worried look on her face.

''Ruby, you have to get your mind off this whole thing with that lunatic,'' the blonde said in a gentle voice. ''You can't let this destroy your life.''

''I wish I could, Yang, but I can't. You didn't see how she looked at me. The look she gave me pretty much said that she would get me, no matter what. I know she's out there and she's looking for me. I can feel it,'' the younger girl said with a shaky voice as she sat on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. She tightened her hug on herself as she thought about what happened to Velvet. ''Besides, you heard what happened to that Scarlatina lady, right? I was there. I could and should have saved her. Yet I ran away like a coward, which cost her life.''

Ever since she escaped from Coco, Ruby had been taken over by two feelings. One was fear, as she was afraid that the crazy fashionista would come for her. It was so bad that the redhead had become paranoid. Every small sound startled her and she felt like she was being watched all the time. This had led to her quitting her job and practically locking herself in her room. If it weren't for Yang, the young girl would have surely starved herself to death, while hiding herself in her closet or some other place she felt safe.

The second thing she was feeling was guilt. Ruby felt like she was responsible for Velvet's death. She felt like she should have done something to make sure that the rabbit faunus would be rescued, instead of running away. No matter how much everyone around her told her that she shouldn't feel this way, the guilt never left.

''You can't blame yourself for that!'' Yang said as she sat on the couch, next to her sister. She then pulled the younger girl into a strong hug in an attempt at offering some sort of comfort. ''Scarlatina's death was not your fault and you did everything you could to save her. No one would have ever expected you to fight her, so all you could do was get the police to save Scarlatina. Instead of feeling guilty over her death, you should be proud that you tried your best to save her and get that Coco bitch arrested.''

''But-''

''And you should know that you don't have anything to worry about with that wacko, since you have the most badass big sister here to protect you. She won't come near you, if she knows what's good for her,'' the blonde explained and gave a kiss on top of her little sister's head. ''Now, how about you stop worrying and get ready to go with me to the city? I've got some movie tickets reserved and I'm not gonna waste them. Blake and Weiss will be there too.''

''I don't know. I mean, would they really want me around?''

''Of course! I know that Weiss can be very uptight, but she does enjoy spending time with you. And I know for a fact that Blake wants you there. The moment I mentioned you, she got very excited.''

''Really?'' Ruby asked with wide eyes as she looked up at her older sister.

''Really. Now go get ready. They will be here soon,'' Yang said with a big smile, sending the younger girl up to her room to get ready.

The blonde hummed to herself happily as she went to put some finishing touches on herself. It was true that her two friends did like having her younger sister around, especially Blake. Once they had heard what she had gone through, they had been very eager to help. However, Yang wanted to first get Ruby to open up before they could really do anything big like this. She was afraid that if they were too aggressive in their actions to help the younger girl, she might shut in on herself. Now that the hard part was over, the blonde could get to work on making her little sister relax and maybe even forget about the whole awful event she went through.

Yang had just finished putting on her boots, when someone rang the doorbell. She immediately thought that it was her friends that had arrived. With a big smile on her face, the blonde walked up to the door and opened it.

''Hi-''

The rest of Yang's greeting was cut off as a hand suddenly shot up to her face and covered her mouth, silencing her. Before the blonde could react, she was kneed in her stomach, which knocked the air out of her lungs and made her double over. Almost immediately after that, her attacker slammed her head against the wall, knocking her out cold.

''Sorry, blondie. But I've got a date with your sister,'' Coco said with a smirk to Yang's unconscious body.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby was combing her hair while listening to music, completely unaware of what was going on. She was excited about hanging out with Yang and her friends. Although they were all older than her, they got along really well. The redhead especially got along with Blake, who shared her love for books. As Ruby thought about the fun day ahead of her, she started to forget about Coco and the encounter she had with her.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. The redhead guessed that it was either Yang or one of her friends, waiting for her to finish up with her preparations.

''Just a second!'' Ruby called out as she started to hurry with her work.

''Oh, I'm afraid that I can't wait another second, Ruby. We've got a busy schedule ahead of us,'' a familiar voice said from the door, causing the redhead to freeze. She slowly turned around and saw that the door to her room had been slightly opened and none other than Coco Adel was poking her head through the door. ''Hellooooo. Fancy meeting you here.''

Ruby felt her blood run cold as she saw the crazed fashionista's smiling face. Her eyes went wide and face paled instantly. The young girl's worst nightmare had come true.

''W-What do you want? Leave me alone,'' Ruby said fearfully as she backed up against the wall behind her.

''Ruby, you know that I can't just leave,'' Coco replied in a playfully scolding tone. ''We need to get to work on that new outfit of mine. The one I need you to model for. I can't get it done without you, so come here already.''

''I-I don't want to! Please, can't you just get someone else to do it?'' the redhead pleaded. She was trying to think of a way to escape, but she couldn't think of anything. The only door to her room was blocked by Coco, and the window to her room couldn't be opened. Not to mention, it was too high for her to jump through it. She could only hope that Yang would notice that something was wrong and would come to her rescue.

''I'm afraid that it has to be you, Ruby. No one else is suited for it. However, if you want me to make it sound better, how about I make you a deal?'' the designer said with a smirk and fully opened the door.

A shocked gasp escaped Ruby's mouth as the door moved away and revealed her sister, unconscious and being dragged from the back of her shirt by Coco. There was also some blood dripping from the side of Yang's head, indicating that she had been hit there.

''Now, you have probably heard of what happened to Velvet, right?'' the lunatic asked as she crouched down and wrapped her arms around Yang's head. ''You wouldn't want that to happen to your sister, now would you? Either you come with me or she's going to have some real pain in the neck.''

''STOP, STOP!'' Ruby screamed, afraid that her sister would be harmed. ''I-I'll go. Just... Just don't harm her, okay?''

''Fantastic!'' Coco said cheerfully and dropped her captive on the floor. ''Now, let's get going, okay? I want to get to work as fast as possible!''

''First step away from Yang. I want to be sure that you won't do anything to her.''

''Woah, easy there!'' the designer said with a grin and her hands held up. She then took a couple of steps away from the unconscious blonde to satisfy the redhead. ''Besides, you don't have to worry about her. As long as you do as I say, she will be fine. I always hold my end of a deal.''

''Like you did with Velvet?'' Ruby asked sarcastically as she went to check her sister's pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when she found it.

''But she did break her deal!'' Coco whined. ''I told her not to make any noise if we had a visitor and you know how that went! I merely punished her for not keeping her side of the bargain!''

''Enough already. Let's just go. The sooner we are done with this, the better,'' the girl said as she was done checking her sister's condition and walked up to her captor.

''Ooooh! You've got spunk! I like that! I feel like we could become the best of friends from this,'' the designer said excitedly as she wrapped her arm around her captive's shoulders and led her out of the house and to her car. The two of them the drove away towards Coco's newest hideout.

Almost immediately after the fashionista had left with her new ''model,'' a white car drove up to the house. Inside were none other than Yang's two friends, Weiss and Blake.

''Weiss, are you sure that Ruby is going to be joining us?'' the cat faunus asked.

''For the last time, Blake, YES! Yang said that she would get her to come with us, even if she had to drag her out of the house!'' the white-haired girl answered in a frustrated voice. ''Can you stop asking me that already!?''

''I'm sorry. It's just that it's been a long time since we saw her. I've been worried about her ever since she had that encounter with that crazy designer.''

''I've been worried about her as well. However, we agreed to let Yang handle things with her,'' Weiss said as she shut down the engine on her car and stepped out of it. ''Besides, two weeks isn't such a long time.''

''Well, it has felt like an eternity to me,'' Blake responded as she got out of the car as well. ''I just wish that I could have been there for her, you know? To help her feel safe. I hate it when she's facing something like this and I can't help her.''

''Be careful or Yang is going to find out about your little fancy. I'm certain that she would show you that there are more than one way to skin a cat.''

''W-What!?''

The two girls walked up to the front door of the house and rang the doorbell. They waited for a couple of minutes without any sounds coming from the inside and rang the doorbell again. After waiting again and ringing the doorbell for the third time, they started to get worried.

''What's taking them so long? Usually Yang's almost immediately at the door,'' Weiss said in a concerned tone.

Blake nodded at her friend's statement. Something was very wrong. She then noticed that the door was actually slightly ajar. Once she saw that, she quickly walked in and saw the bloodstain on the wall. A shocked gasp indicated that Weiss had noticed the stain as well.

''Something's wrong. We need to find Yang and Ruby,'' the cat faunus said as she quickly made her way upstairs. As soon as she got there, her body froze upon the sight of Yang laying on the floor, completely motionless. Weiss, who had followed her, saw the state their friend was in and ran to check on her.

''She's alive, just unconscious. Although, she could have concussion, considering the damage to her head,'' the white-haired girl said after checking over the blonde. She looked up to see Blake running around with a panicked look over her face. ''Would you calm down and help me over here!? We need to call an ambulance! What are you even looking for!?''

''Where's Ruby?'' Blake asked, making Weiss go wide-eyed as she realized what might be going on.

* * *

Back with Ruby, the redheaded girl was sitting on the passenger seat in Coco's car. The fashion designer had turned on the radio and was happily humming the tune of the pop song that was playing. While Ruby was terrified, Coco was completely relaxed, like the situation they were in was completely normal.

''Where are you taking me?'' the redhead asked in a fearful voice.

''To my new studio. We need to get away from all of these people that would distract us from our work,'' the lunatic answered without breaking the smile on her face. She then remembered something and took two pills from her handbag, before handing them to Ruby. ''Here. Swallow these.''

''What are they?'' Ruby asked as she looked at the pills.

''Just something to help you relax and make this trip easier.''

''What if I don't take them?'' Ruby asked with a frown on her face and threw the pills to the back of the car.

''Alright. If you want to be like that,'' Coco said with a sigh. Then, without even looking away from the road, she bashed Ruby's head against the side of the car so hard that she was knocked out cold. ''First Velvet and now her. Why is it that I can only get difficult people to work with?''

* * *

 **Author's notes: So, seeing as how this was received positively, I have decided to continue this story. Hope you've liked it so far.**

 **With this we are about halfway done with this story. However, I might switch and go write something else for a quick change. I'll still finish this, though.**

 **Until next time.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.**


	3. Epilogue 1: Submission

**Of Fashion And Death**

 **Epilogue 1: Submission**

A woman in her late 50's was looking over a grocery store in a small town. She was standing behind the counter while reading the latest newspaper. The day had been rather boring with only a couple of customers and right now there was only one in the store. The woman was certain that the most exciting thing today would be reading the news.

As she continued going through her paper, a rather disturbing article caught her attention. It was so distracting that she didn't notice her customer walk up to the counter.

''Excuse me,'' the customer said, catching the store owner's attention, who turned look at them. The woman saw that her customer was a rather young woman, who was wearing a brown hoodie with the hood pulled up and sunglasses over her eyes. ''I would like to make my purchase now.''

''Oh, right!'' the store owner said. ''Sorry. It's been a slow day and I was caught up in my paper.''

''That's okay,'' the customer replied. ''What was in the paper that caught your attention like that?''

''It's an article about that crazy fashion designer, Coco Adel. She's been missing for a couple of weeks now and has been switching hideouts, making it hard for the police to catch her. To make things worse, she has a young girl with her, who was kidnapped by her. This article was about a dead body that was found not too far from here and the police are investigating if it was one of Coco's murders.''

''How frightening. Should we be worried?''

''Probably. You never know who you run into out there, but the police are investigating it. Let's just hope that they catch her soon.''

After their little conversation, the customer paid for her stuff and left. However, if one were to look a bit closer at her, they would find out that she had a troubled expression on her face. It was because this person was none other than Coco Adel, the famous fashion designer turned murderer and kidnapper.

The news she had just heard about bothered her greatly. It seemed like the police had found the body of a person that had recognized her. She thought that she had gotten rid of it properly, but it seemed like she would need to switch to another hideout soon. But even if Coco knew that she would need to do it, she didn't want to. She was so close to completing her latest outfit that would shock the world of fashion. She only needed a little more time and her vision would be complete. Looking for a new hideout would slow down her progress.

 _'I only need a little more time. That's it. I'm too close to stop now,'_ the designer thought to herself as she made her way to her hideout, which was an old abandoned building near the town.

Getting inside the building, Coco headed straight to the basement. There she had created a makeshift studio for her to work at. It was also the place that held her captive model, Ruby Rose. The young redhead was shackled to a wall from her leg and was unable to escape. She looked up at her captor with fearful eyes, wondering what she had planned for her.

''Oh, don't look at me like that, Ruby!'' Coco said cheerfully as she put her groceries on a table in the middle of the room. ''We are just about to be finished with my project! You should be happy that you got to be a part of something big like this!''

''I would be happy if I was free,'' Ruby replied in a sad tone. ''How much more work is there?''

''Not much! I'll just go get my equipment and we can continue where we left off!''

The designer left the basement to go look for the stuff she needed, leaving the young redhead alone. Ruby looked at the table Coco had left her groceries and noticed something. The key to her shackle was left on the table. The young girl guessed that her captor must have accidentally left it on the table since she had been too caught up in her project.

Now Ruby needed to make a decision. Would she take the key and try to escape? Coco was currently going around the house, looking for the things she needed. This was honestly the best possible opportunity the redhead would most likely ever get. However, if she got caught, there was no telling what the crazy designer would do to her. She could break her legs or do anything else to make it impossible for her to escape. There was even the possibility that Coco would go after someone Ruby loved and hurt them as punishment.

It was a choice between trying to escape or obeying her captor. Little did Ruby know that her choice would decide someone's fate.

Ruby was about to grab the key, but she stopped. She thought about all the horrible things that Coco would do to her if she got caught. The images that came into the redhead's mind filled her heart with fear and made her body freeze. She couldn't take the risk. Even if she managed to escape, there was still the possibility that Coco would come after her later, which would put her and her family in danger again.

Giving up on her idea of escape, Ruby went to sit against the wall again. She waited for Coco to come back, so they could finally finish this nightmarish project of hers. The redhead could only hope that the lunatic would be true to her word and would let her go, once this project was finished. Ruby had some hope for this, considering how Coco had not killed Yang when she had gone with her without any resistance.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, the young girl heard footsteps heading towards the basement again. It seemed like Coco had finally finished gathering her equipment and was coming back. The designer came back with her arms full of all sorts of stuff, ranging from pieces of clothing to photography equipment. She had a wide smile on her face as she put her stuff on the table and turned to look at Ruby.

''Now, let's get ready to shock the world!'' Coco said with glee while Ruby could only sigh, hoping that this nightmare would end soon.

* * *

Back in the small town Coco had just visited for groceries, a single car was driving around the area. This car had two people in it, Qrow and Raven Branwen, who were two of Vale's best detectives. They were going around the town, searching for any clues for Coco Adel. The detective duo had come there as soon as they had heard of the dead body that had been found. Ever since Ruby Rose had been kidnapped by the insane designer, they had been trying to catch her and had been following her trail. It had eventually led them to this town, where they hoped to finally rescue the young redhead.

The two detectives weren't dedicated to this only because it was their job or because it was the right thing to do. They were so intent on doing this because Ruby was family to them. While the girl wasn't directly related to either of them, she was the daughter of Raven's ex-husband, Taiyang Xiao Long, which meant that the raven-haired woman came to know the girl from visiting her daughter, Yang. Ruby was also the daughter of Summer Rose, who was a close friend of the Branwen siblings. Unfortunately due to their closeness, Summer had ended up as a target of a couple of criminals that were angry at the Branwens, leading to her death. Ever since that day, the two detectives had sworn to keep her daughter safe, no matter what. They just hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

''So, did you have any luck with your search for clues?'' Qrow asked as he drove the car the two siblings were sitting in.

''Nothing,'' Raven answered in a blunt, almost emotionless voice, but her brother could detect a hint of sadness in it. ''I haven't been able to find a single thing that could lead us to that lunatic.''

''Well, I was able to find something,'' Qrow said, catching his sister's attention. ''Apparently, there has been someone that has been coming to the local grocery store quite often that matches Coco's looks quite well. It also seems that she has been seen heading to the edge of town quite often, where there is an abandoned house there. Seems like a perfect hiding place, right? I think we should check it out.''

Raven frowned. ''Qrow, we have gotten these types of clues multiple times and they have always led us nowhere. While we waste time going in the wrong direction, that lunatic is doing whatever she wants to Ruby. We need to find them as soon as possible, before she gets hurt.''

''That is one way to look at it,'' the male detective replied. ''However, what if this is Coco Adel? What if we ignore this and end up never finding Ruby? We don't have anything better at the moment and I think we should look through every possible place until we find her. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to do everything it takes to find Tai's girl, even if I had to tear down every building here.''

''...You're right,'' the female detective said as she looked down at her lap, ashamed of the fact that she had almost thrown away a clue. ''And I'm with you. I would also do everything to find Ruby. I don't want her to end up like Summer.''

''That's something neither one of us wants.''

* * *

Ruby was sitting on the floor after a long session of Coco taking pictures of her in different outfits. The whole process had been horribly stressful for her, as she didn't really get any good rest and she had to strain herself to make the poses and faces that Coco wanted for her pictures. Not only was the redhead physically exhausted, her mental exhaustion was making it hard for her to really do anything. Ruby's only hope at the moment was that this would be the last session she would have to go through. Otherwise she didn't know if she could continue anymore.

Coco was currently looking through the pictures she had taken. She was inspecting every little detail in them. Only absolute perfection was acceptable for the designer and nothing else.

After looking through the pictures, Coco turned to look at Ruby with a wide smile on her face and said, ''These are incredible! I knew that you were exactly what I had been looking for! We are going to shock the world with these for sure!''

''That's great to hear,'' Ruby said with a fake smile on her face. ''Does this mean that you don't need me anymore?''

The designer seemed to think about this for a moment, before she walked out of the basement suddenly. She came back a bit later and walked up to the redhead while holding something behind her back.

''Ruby, I truly want to thank you for what you've done,'' Coco said while looking at Ruby in the eyes. ''I know this has been a lot of hard work, but you've truly helped bring about something great. We haven't just created outfits here. We have done something that will revolutionize the world of fashion. For years our work shall be known as part of fashion's history. For that, you have my utmost gratitude.''

''Y-You're welcome,'' the redhead said while creeped out by the designer. She honestly didn't feel so great about their work. ''B-But can I go now? I mean, you don't need me anymore, do you?''

''That's the thing, Ruby. I might not need you right now, but you are something that managed to inspire me through my darkest moments. You are truly a light that can guide any designer to their goals. Even if I don't need you right now, I can't say the same for the future or other designers that struggle with the same obstacles I did,'' Coco explained as she started to caress Ruby's face with her hand. ''There could be a need for you in the future, but time is cruel. In time, you will lose your incredible looks and thus the light that guided me will disappear. You are magnificent. Too magnificent for that to happen. I cannot let it happen to you. I must make sure that the world of fashion won't lose it's greatest thing ever.''

''What are you- mmmphf!?''

Ruby's question was cut off by Coco, who took a rag covered in chloroform from behind her back and shoved it over Ruby's face. The girl tried her best to struggle against her captor, but was too weak to fight. In the end, she fell unconscious in Coco's arms.

''Don't worry. You shall live forever in the world of fashion. Like you should,'' the designer said with an insane smile on her face.

* * *

After some searching, Qrow and Raven had finally arrived at the abandoned house they had heard of. The building was fairly large and in bad shape. It was also surrounded by a thick forest, which was a good place for someone to run to in order to escape pursuers. The two detectives got out of their car and started to make their way to the front door. They both readied their guns in case they encountered Coco or anyone else that would want to attack them.

Once they were standing right behind the door, Qrow looked at his sister and said, ''Are you ready?''

''Ready as ever,'' Raven answered. ''Let's hope that we'll get the bitch this time.''

''Remember the rules. We are to try our best to get her alive.''

''I will, unless she gives me a reason to not to.''

Qrow opened the door slowly and the detectives sneaked in. They started to make their way into the building slowly, when they suddenly heard something. It was the sound of someone humming. There was someone in the building. Qrow and Raven started to go towards the sound, hoping to find one of the people they were looking for. The two siblings soon came upon what seemed to be a kitchen, with none other than Coco Adel herself washing something in the sink, oblivious to the intruders.

Raven looked at Qrow, who nodded at her. Then the female detective pointed her gun at Coco and yelled, ''This is the police! Hands in the air!''

Upon noticing the intruder pointing a gun at her, Coco tried to make a run for, but she was soon tackled to the ground by Qrow.

''Not so fast, Ms. Adel!'' Qrow said to the designer as he put handcuffs on her. ''We have been looking for you and have some questions for you!''

Rave was making her way to her brother, when she noticed what Coco had been washing in the sink. They were all sorts of tools. And they were covered in blood.

A cold chill ran down Raven's back, before she ran out the kitchen to search for Ruby, hoping that it wasn't what she thought it was. She ran upstairs while ignoring her brother calling for her, thinking only about finding the redheaded girl. Raven went from room to room, until she finally found what she was looking for.

There was Ruby. Laying on a table with a white blanket covering her.

Even though everything looked fine at first, Raven soon realized that something was very wrong. Ruby's body wasn't moving at all and there was a horrible stench in the air. The detective started to slowly walk towards the girl, and once she was standing next to her, she took hold of the blanket and threw it off.

Raven screamed upon seeing what the blanket was covering.

Having heard his sister's scream, Qrow almost ran after her to upstairs. Raven was a tough woman and definitely not one who would scream over nothing. However, if he left in search of his sister, it would leave Coco alone and give her a chance to escape. That was something Qrow absolutely didn't want.

Before the brother of the Branwen siblings could decide whether he should go looking for his sister, said woman came downstairs. At first Qrow was relieved to see his sister alive and well, but that was soon replaced with worry once he saw Raven's face. The woman was wide-eyed and completely pale. She looked like she had seen a ghost or something equally horrifying.

''Raven? Is something wrong?'' Qrow asked his sister.

However, Raven didn't answer and simply walked past him and over to Coco. She stood there, silently staring at the handcuffed designer, until she pulled out her gun and almost shot the criminal. Had it not been for her brother, Coco would have surely gotten shot.

''Raven, what the hell are you doing!?'' Qrow asked while he attempted to hold back his sister. ''We can't kill her! We need to focus on finding Ruby!''

''It's too late!'' Raven screamed.

''What?''

''This... This monster! She killed her! She killed Ruby! She killed Summer's baby girl!'' the sister of the siblings screamed out of grief and rage. ''Her body is upstairs... In a room... This bastard wasn't just satisfied with killing her! She had to defile Ruby's body as well! SHE TURNED RUBY INTO A MANNEQUIN!''

Having been struck by what his sister told him, Qrow let go of Raven, who fell on her knees and started to cry uncontrollably. Qrow himself could only stand still and stare dumbly ahead of him. He just couldn't believe that Ruby was gone. He couldn't believe that he had failed Summer in the worst way possible.

''What are you talking about? I didn't kill her,'' Coco said with an insane smile on her face. ''I made her immortal. Now she can live forever in the world of fashion, assisting people like me in their-''

The rest of the designer's words were cut off by Qrow grabbing her by the throat. He looked at her straight in the eyes with a furious glare.

''You will keep your mouth shut or I'll let Raven do as she pleases to you.''

* * *

The next couple of days were filled with grief for the family and friends of Ruby Rose. Taiyang was shattered over losing his daughter. Had it not been for his other daughter, Yang, needing him for support, the man would have surely lost himself in his grief. Yang was also greatly hurt by the loss of Ruby. She couldn't believe that her precious baby sister was gone. The blonde girl practically locked herself in her room, where she would stay and cry for her sister. The only person that could have possibly been feeling worse than Yang was Blake. The cat faunus was overcome with grief over losing the girl she loved. She had even attempted suicide, but was luckily saved by her parents. Qrow, Raven, Weiss and many others were grieving as well.

When it came to Coco, the insane designer had managed to hire herself a lawyer that helped her in her case. Thanks to this she managed to avoid the death sentence and life in prison. Instead she was to be sent to a mental asylum, where she would be ''treated.'' This of course didn't sit well with Ruby's family and friends, who thought it was a crime to let the person who murdered Ruby practically get away with what she did.

Those hurt by their loss demanded justice. And they would get it.

A couple of days after her sentence, Coco was sitting in prison, waiting to be transported to the mental asylum. Eventually a guard came to her cell, opened the door and said, ''Get up. It's time for your transport.''

Coco followed the instructions she was given and was soon walking out of the prison with handcuffs around her wrists. When they got outside, there was a police van waiting for her with a female driver next to it.

''Are you the only person escorting her?'' the guard asked the driver. ''Shouldn't you have at least one more person with you, since she is so dangerous?''

''Don't worry. I'll be able to handle myself,'' the driver answered. Coco could have sworn that her voice sounded familiar, but decided that it was probably just her imagination.

The designer got into the back of the van and was soon being transported towards her new home. Coco couldn't see outside, so she decided to simply make herself comfortable and wait for the trip to end. After some time, the van stopped and the back door was opened. Coco guessed that they had arrived at their destination, so she got up and walked out of the vehicle.

However, she didn't see the front yard of the mental asylum she had been expecting. Instead, the designer was surrounded by a thick forest with a small road that the van had been driving on.

''Hey, what's going on?'' Coco asked the driver, who was closing the back door of the van. ''Why did we stop here?''

''Shut up,'' the driver said as she went to take hold of Coco's arm. ''There are some people here that want to see you. Get moving.''

The designer was getting dragged by her arm into the forest. As they walked, Coco noticed signs that warned of a swamp up ahead. She also recognized the driver, as she finally got a good look at her face.

''Hey, you're that detective-''

The rest of Coco's words were cut off by a punch to the gut that brought her to her knees. The driver took off her hat and revealed herself as none other than Raven Branwen.

''I said shut up,'' the raven-haired woman said with barely controlled anger. ''We are here. These people want to have a few words with you.''

Coco looked up and saw three people walk up to her. They were Yang, Blake and Weiss. The three girls were staring at the designer with hatred in their eyes and were carrying weapons with them.

''Well, look who it is. If it isn't Coco Adel herself,'' Yang said as she glared at said woman while holding a baseball bat. ''How lucky we are to meet a celebrity like you.''

''What's going? Who are you people?'' Coco asked as she looked at the people around her.

''Remember Ruby Rose?'' Blake asked while gritting her teeth in anger. She was also holding a knife in her hands. ''We are her family and friends. We are going to make you pay for taking her away from us. We are going to make you pay for KILLING MY RUBY!''

Soon the three girls were beating the maniacal designer. Blake was cutting her with her knife, while Yang and Weiss beat her with a baseball bat and a golf club. Coco was curled up on the ground, trying her best to defend herself. She was screaming in pain and begging for mercy.

''Stop! Please!'' Coco pleaded as the beating continued.

''What's the matter!? Not so tough now that you're not up against a defenseless, scared girl!?'' Yang yelled as she continued beating the designer.

''I did it for the fashion! She was going to live on forever in the world of fashion!''

''Was that supposed to be worth her life!?'' Weiss yelled while continuing the beating.

''You will pay for what you did to her! You will feel what she felt when you killed her!'' Blake screamed as she stabbed her knife in Coco's leg.

After a while beating and abuse, the insane designer was left on the ground, bloodied and beaten. She was crying from the pain she was in and begging for mercy. Yang walked up to her and lifted her up with her arms around her neck.

''I think it's time we finished here,'' the blonde girl said as she tightened her hold around Coco's neck and turned to look at Blake. ''Ready?''

The cat faunus nodded and stabbed her knife deep inside the designer's stomach. Before Coco could fully register what happened, Yang twisted her head and snapped her neck. The lunatic's lifeless body fell to the ground.

''Leave your weapons here. I'll throw them in the swamp with this bastard's body,'' Raven said to the three girls after they had finished with their revenge. ''No one will ever find them there.''

The girls nodded and started to make their way towards the van. Raven stayed back to collect the weapons and Coco's corpse. She carried them all to the swamp where she dumped them. This area was known to be dangerous as many people had sunk there by accident and lost their lives. Because of this it was avoided, making it a good place to hide the body and the weapons.

With her job done, Raven walked back to the van to get the girls and herself home. They had managed to avenge Ruby's death and could now live with the knowledge that justice had been served.

* * *

 **Author's notes: This is one of the two endings I had planned for this story. The next chapter is the other ending. Hope you check it out.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.**


	4. Epilogue 2: Escape

**Of Fashion And Death**

 **Epilogue 2: Escape**

A woman in her late 50's was looking over a grocery store in a small town. She was standing behind the counter while reading the latest newspaper. The day had been rather boring with only a couple of customers and right now there was only one in the store. The woman was certain that the most exciting thing today would be reading the news.

As she continued going through her paper, a rather disturbing article caught her attention. It was so distracting that she didn't notice her customer walk up to the counter.

''Excuse me,'' the customer said, catching the store owner's attention, who turned look at them. The woman saw that her customer was a rather young woman, who was wearing a brown hoodie with the hood pulled up and sunglasses over her eyes. ''I would like to make my purchase now.''

''Oh, right!'' the store owner said. ''Sorry. It's been a slow day and I was caught up in my paper.''

''That's okay,'' the customer replied. ''What was in the paper that caught your attention like that?''

''It's an article about that crazy fashion designer, Coco Adel. She's been missing for a couple of weeks now and has been switching hideouts, making it hard for the police to catch her. To make things worse, she has a young girl with her, who was kidnapped by her. This article was about a dead body that was found not too far from here and the police are investigating if it was one of Coco's murders.''

''How frightening. Should we be worried?''

''Probably. You never know who you run into out there, but the police are investigating it. Let's just hope that they catch her soon.''

After their little conversation, the customer paid for her stuff and left. However, if one were to look a bit closer at her, they would find out that she had a troubled expression on her face. It was because this person was none other than Coco Adel, the famous fashion designer turned murderer and kidnapper.

The news she had just heard about bothered her greatly. It seemed like the police had found the body of a person that had recognized her. She thought that she had gotten rid of it properly, but it seemed like she would need to switch to another hideout soon. But even if Coco knew that she would need to do it, she didn't want to. She was so close to completing her latest outfit that would shock the world of fashion. She only needed a little more time and her vision would be complete. Looking for a new hideout would slow down her progress.

 _'I only need a little more time. That's it. I'm too close to stop now,'_ the designer thought to herself as she made her way to her hideout, which was an old abandoned building near the town.

Getting inside the building, Coco headed straight to the basement. There she had created a makeshift studio for her to work at. It was also the place that held her captive model, Ruby Rose. The young redhead was shackled to a wall from her leg and was unable to escape. She looked up at her captor with fearful eyes, wondering what she had planned for her.

''Oh, don't look at me like that, Ruby!'' Coco said cheerfully as she put her groceries on a table in the middle of the room. ''We are just about to be finished with my project! You should be happy that you got to be a part of something big like this!''

''I would be happy if I was free,'' Ruby replied in a sad tone. ''How much more work is there?''

''Not much! I'll just go get my equipment and we can continue where we left off!''

The designer left the basement to go look for the stuff she needed, leaving the young redhead alone. Ruby looked at the table Coco had left her groceries and noticed something. The key to her shackle was left on the table. The young girl guessed that her captor must have accidentally left it on the table since she had been too caught up in her project.

Now Ruby needed to make a decision. Would she take the key and try to escape? Coco was currently going around the house, looking for the things she needed. This was honestly the best possible opportunity the redhead would most likely ever get. However, if she got caught, there was no telling what the crazy designer would do to her. She could break her legs or do anything else to make it impossible for her to escape. There was even the possibility that Coco would go after someone Ruby loved and hurt them as punishment.

It was a choice between trying to escape or obeying her captor. Little did Ruby know that her choice would decide someone's fate.

Steeling her resolve, Ruby took the key and used it to free herself from her shackle. She quickly went up the stairs leading to the basement and to the door at the top. The redhead carefully and quietly opened the door, not wanting Coco to find out about her escape. She looked around and listened. Ruby could hear Coco walking upstairs, looking for the equipment she needed. As silently as possible, the girl made her way to the door and got out. She saw that the house she had been taken to was surrounded by a thick forest and ran into it, hoping that her captor wouldn't find her from there.

Just as Ruby was about to disappear into the woods, Coco saw her from one of the windows. She immediately dropped everything she had been carrying and ran outside to go after her escaping captive.

* * *

Back in the small town Coco had just visited for groceries, a single car was driving around the area. This car had two people in it, Qrow and Raven Branwen, who were two of Vale's best detectives. They were going around the town, searching for any clues for Coco Adel. The detective duo had come there as soon as they had heard of the dead body that had been found. Ever since Ruby Rose had been kidnapped by the insane designer, they had been trying to catch her and had been following her trail. It had eventually led them to this town, where they hoped to finally rescue the young redhead.

The two detectives weren't dedicated to this only because it was their job or because it was the right thing to do. They were so intent on doing this because Ruby was family to them. While the girl wasn't directly related to either of them, she was the daughter of Raven's ex-husband, Taiyang Xiao Long, which meant that the raven-haired woman came to know the girl from visiting her daughter, Yang. Ruby was also the daughter of Summer Rose, who was a close friend of the Branwen siblings. Unfortunately due to their closeness, Summer had ended up as a target of a couple of criminals that were angry at the Branwens, leading to her death. Ever since that day, the two detectives had sworn to keep her daughter safe, no matter what. They just hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

''So, did you have any luck with your search for clues?'' Qrow asked as he drove the car the two siblings were sitting in.

''Nothing,'' Raven answered in a blunt, almost emotionless voice, but her brother could detect a hint of sadness in it. ''I haven't been able to find a single thing that could lead us to that lunatic.''

''Well, I was able to find something,'' Qrow said, catching his sister's attention. ''Apparently, there has been someone that has been coming to the local grocery store quite often that matches Coco's looks quite well. It also seems that she has been seen heading to the edge of town quite often, where there is an abandoned house there. Seems like a perfect hiding place, right? I think we should check it out.''

Raven frowned. ''Qrow, we have gotten these types of clues multiple times and they have always led us nowhere. While we waste time going in the wrong direction, that lunatic is doing whatever she wants to Ruby. We need to find them as soon as possible, before she gets hurt.''

''That is one way to look at it,'' the male detective replied. ''However, what if this is Coco Adel? What if we ignore this and end up never finding Ruby? We don't have anything better at the moment and I think we should look through every possible place until we find her. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to do everything it takes to find Tai's girl, even if I had to tear down every building here.''

''...You're right,'' the female detective said as she looked down at her lap, ashamed of the fact that she had almost thrown away a clue. ''And I'm with you. I would also do everything to find Ruby. I don't want her to end up like Summer.''

''That's something neither one of us wants.''

* * *

Ruby ran as fast as she could for some time, until exhaustion got the best of her and she had to stop for a breather. The redhead had not been eating well due to Coco fearing that she would gain weight. She also hadn't slept well either due to all the mental stress she was in. All of this had made her quite weak and it was hard for her to even stand up. The girl needed to rest at least a little.

However, Ruby wasn't allowed her much needed rest, as she heard something that brought chills down her spine.

''Ruby! Where the hell did you go!?'' Coco could be heard screaming angrily. ''You promised that you would help me with my work! Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you for breaking that promise!?''

The redhead decided that she didn't want to find out and got up to run away. With all of her strength, the girl ran as fast as she could to get away from her captor. All of her senses were focused on escaping and nothing else. She didn't even look behind her to see if Coco was behind her.

Ruby eventually got out of the forest and to a small dirt road, where she fell to the ground out of exhaustion. She tried her best to get up, but was too weak to even get on her knees. The redhead didn't notice how Coco had caught up to her and was standing right behind her with a knife in her hand.

''We could have been so great together, Ruby,'' the designer said, making Ruby look at her with wide and scared eyes. ''The work we were doing would have shocked the world. Too bad you decided to pull this stunt.''

Coco raised the knife up in the air to stab the defenseless girl, but a sudden gunshot hit her in the shoulder and caused her to fall to the ground. Soon Qrow was on her, pointing his gun at the crazy designer and getting ready to put handcuffs on her. Raven ran up to Ruby to see if she was alright.

''Ruby, are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?'' the raven-haired woman asked the redheaded girl with worry in her voice.

''A-Auntie Raven? Uncle Qrow? Is that really you?'' Ruby asked, not able to believe what she was seeing.

''Yes, Ruby. It's us. You're safe now,'' Raven said in a gentle voice. The redheaded girl hugged the woman as tightly as she could and began crying. Raven hugged her back and started to rock her back and forth. ''No need to worry, Ruby. It's finally over.''

* * *

Ruby was taken to a hospital as soon as possible. While she wasn't badly injured, she was still suffering from malnourishment and severe exhaustion. The redhead had been sleeping for three days straight due to being so tired and was currently resting on her bed in the hospital.

The girl was not alone, as Yang, Blake and Weiss were there. As soon as they heard that Ruby had been rescued, they pretty much stormed into the hospital. The three girls needed to make sure that the younger girl was truly alive and safe. Although they weren't able to go see her at first, they were eventually allowed in the room and they almost had to be dragged out of there. The trio wanted to be there when Ruby woke up.

It was especially bad with Blake, who refused to step away from the redhead. She was pretty much glued to the side of Ruby's bed, waiting for the girl to wake up.

The three girl were in Ruby's room again, waiting for her to wake up. Suddenly they heard her make noise and start to move. All three immediately walked up to Ruby and watched as she slowly opened her eyes, causing them to cry tears of joy.

''Y-Yang? Is that... you?'' Ruby managed to say weakly.

''Yes. It's me, baby sis,'' Yang said as she tried to hold back her tears. ''I'm right here for you.''

''And Blake? Weiss too?'' the redhead asked as she looked around and saw the other people in the room.

''Of course, Ruby. Why wouldn't we be here?'' Weiss asked back with her own tears falling.

''We were so worried about you,'' Blake said as she started to stroke Ruby's hair gently. ''We wanted to be here to see that you were alright.''

''Thank you. Thank you so much for being here,'' Ruby said with a big smile on her face.

While the girls were focused with each other, the door opened and Qrow walked in. The man had a frown on his face as he had some bad news to tell.

''Hey, girls, I have some-'' Qrow began but noticed that Ruby was awake and stopped himself. ''Ruby?''

''Uncle Qrow? Is that you?'' Ruby asked with a smile on her face.

''Who else is handsome like me?'' the dark-haired man asked playfully with a smile on his face. He walked up to the redheaded girl and ruffled her head a bit. ''Listen, I need to talk to Yang and her friends for a second. You get some rest while I do that, okay?''

After Ruby nodded, Qrow asked the three older girls to follow him and walked out of the room. Yang and Weiss followed him, but Blake stayed behind. The cat faunus had a big blush on her face as she seemed to be contemplating something. Before Ruby could ask what was wrong, Blake leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. She then walked out of the room, where Qrow and her friends were waiting for her.

Ruby was surprised by the kiss and blushed heavily. However, she decided not to think too much about it and just get some rest. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. The redhead was just about to fall asleep, when she heard something hit her window. This sound kept repeating, which was strange as the redhead's room was not on the ground floor. Ruby got up into a sitting position to see what it was.

What she saw made her eyes go wide.

* * *

Back with Qrow and the three older girls, the dark-haired man had a frown on his face as he looked at the girls. The three girls were nervous and wondered what Qrow was going to tell them. It was clear that it was bad news.

''What's wrong, Uncle Qrow?'' Yang asked. She knew that when her uncle was like this it meant that something bad was going on. ''Is it about Ruby?''

''Not exactly,'' Qrow answered. ''It's about the lady who kidnapped her, Coco Adel. It seems that she has managed to escape.''

''What!?'' Blake almost yelled. ''How could they let her get away!?''

''It seems like the car that was transporting her had an accident. It was found on it's side and off the road. The two officers that were transporting her were dead and one of their guns is missing. They haven't been able to find Coco yet, so it's reasonable to believe that she is on the loose,'' the unshaven man explained.

''She isn't coming after Ruby, is she?'' Yang asked with fear in her voice.

''We don't know yet. However, we are going to place a guard here to look after her. I am also going to have to ask you three to not go anywhere alone, as she could very well target any of you as well. Raven herself has stated that she is going to be taking turns in watching over Ruby and staying at your house to look over you, Yang,'' Qrow answered.

''Oh, come on! I don't need a-''

Yang was cut off by a scream coming from Ruby's room. The group immediately ran over there to see what was wrong.

* * *

While Qrow was having his conversation with the girls, Ruby was looking out of the window. The thing that she saw there made her eyes go wide and her face pale.

Coco Adel was standing there. Staring right towards her with an insane smile on her face. She also had small rocks in one of her hands, which she had thrown at the window to catch Ruby's attention.

Ruby could do only one thing at that moment, scream as loud as she could. By the time Qrow and the three older girls came in, Coco had already left. However, Ruby knew one horrible thing.

Her nightmare was not over yet.

* * *

 **Author's notes: A bit ''happier'' ending than the first one. I was originally planning to have Coco sneak into Ruby's room and kill her, but I thought that you guys might like it more if she were to survive. You probably also noticed that this was in some parts similar to the previous one. That's because these are essentially two different versions for the ending. Pick whichever you like as the ''true'' ending.  
**

 **Anyways, I'm happy that I managed to get this done, so I can go back to War for Ruby. I've got a lot of things that I want to write into it, so I'm excited to get back into it.**

 **Also, remember the moral of the story here, kids. Stay away from dangerously insane fashion designers. That won't end happily.**

 **Until next time.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.**


End file.
